Mr. Obama has a problem with his image. He is aloof. He does not connect with people. He has words, but no ordinary person thinks that he is there for them, and women feel that intensely – Lynn Forester de Rothschild of New York

Senator Barack H. Obama behaves as if he has already been elected the President of the United States. He goes for concert-like events like he were a rock star or a mega-celebrity. On the other hand, his opponent, Sen. John McCain, continues to meet with voters in town-hall meetings in the Main Streets of America. As Peter Nicholas reported today in the Los Angeles Times, “. . . Supporters are put off by what they describe as a campaign marked by hubris and a style dedicated to televised extravaganzas.”

As Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” Yes, the political opera is not over yet by any means for the Fat Lady has still to sing, to use an oft-quoted cliché. When the voting is all said and done come November 2008, Mr. Obama may experience the biggest shock of his life.

Here are excerpts from a Los Angeles Times’ article written by Peter Nicholas:

Obama's path to presidency is far from clear

QUOTE.

The Democrat is winning fans on his trip abroad, but is struggling to gain real ground against McCain at home. Some key Clinton backers remain alienated.

By Peter Nicholas, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
July 25, 2007

Several new surveys show that Obama is in a tight race or even losing ground to Republican John McCain, both nationally and in two important swing states, Colorado and Minnesota. One new poll offered a possible explanation for his troubles: A minority of voters sees Obama as a familiar figure with whom they can identify.

Many voters still seem to be puzzling over who Obama is, even after a race that has lasted a year and a half. By 58% to 47%, voters identity more with the values and background of McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, than with Obama, according to a newly released Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

Obama may also be slipping in some key states. He lost a narrow lead in Colorado, falling 5 percentage points in the past month, and now trails McCain 46% to 44%, a new Quinnipiac University poll found. In Minnesota, Obama fell 8 percentage points, though he still leads McCain 46% to 44%, the survey found. The polling spanned the five days before Obama went abroad and the first four days of his trip.

At a time when nearly three-quarters of Americans believe the nation is on the wrong track, the political climate would suggest that McCain, whose party controls the White House, might lag by large margins. Yet a national Fox News poll released Thursday showed that Obama's 4-point lead over McCain in June had shrunk to a single point. The new Journal/NBC poll showed Obama leading by 6 points, unchanged from the month before.

The race remains close even though McCain has stumbled at times and has been largely eclipsed this week by Obama's high-profile trip to Europe and the Middle East, including Iraq and Afghanistan.

(Snipped)

Susie Tompkins Buell, a major Clinton fundraiser, said: "The Clinton supporters that I know are bothered by these rock-star events. These spectacles are more about the candidate than they are about the party and the issues that we care about."

Obama is to return home Saturday after a nine-day trip that has produced some of the most memorable images of the campaign. Speaking in Berlin before a sea of young faces, the presumed Democratic nominee echoed a famous line from President Reagan, who, at Brandenburg Gate, implored Soviet counterpart Mikhail S. Gorbachev to "tear down this wall."

"The walls between races and tribes, natives and immigrants, Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down," Obama told the warmly enthusiastic crowd in Tiergarten park. He spoke from a stage constructed near the Victory Column, a soaring monument to Prussian military triumphs.

Powerful as the image was, back home some voters wondered whether the trip was necessary. Both Obama and McCain had been invited Thursday to a cancer forum organized by cyclist Lance Armstrong's foundation at Ohio State University.

McCain showed; Obama did not. Some in the crowd took notice.

Ann Marie Jones, a stay-at-home mother whose 10-year-old son was diagnosed with cancer in September, said she had leaned toward Obama "until he didn't show up tonight."

"I feel like I understand what he's doing over there, but I think he needed to be here tonight for this," she said.

UNQUOTE.

To read the article of Mr. Nicholas in its entirety, please click on this link, Obama's path to presidency is far from clear or copy and paste this URL to your browser:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-na-challenges25-2008jul25,0,7814989.story